“I can’t let other people make important choices for me. I want to stand on my own.”
“Hey. Are you saying we can’t be friends anymore? Because I totally love you, Dessy Gherkin.”
“We can still be friends,” I said. “But I’m going to have to make more decisions. And I can’t let you pay for stuff.”
“Wow. That’s going to completely overhaul our dynamic.”
“I think it will be good for both of us.”
“Maybe.”
“You need some free time to straighten things out with Boz,” I said.
“I don’t know, Dessy. I think I really screwed up. You were right. I really hurt him.”
“You need to fix it.”
“How do you unhurt somebody?” Veronica asked.
“Just start being a decent human being again. You’ve got it in you. No more lying. Or manipulating. Or blackmailing.”
“You make it sound like I have to become a whole different person.”
The sound of knocking halted our conversation once again.
“Dessy?” a male voice asked. “Are you in there?”
I stayed very quiet. It was a familiar voice.
“You’ve got a bedsheet with a circle and a dot drawn on it hanging out your window,” Roger said. “And your front door is wide open. What’s going on? Are you okay?”
“No!” Veronica yelled. “We’re not okay. Corky is trying to cut us!”
“Open the door!” he said.
“Veronica,” I said. “My zipper is stuck.”
“Mine too!”
“We’re coming,” I called to Roger.
“I can’t budge it,” Veronica said.
“Open it now!” Roger said. “Or I’ll break it down.”
“Oh my god,” Veronica said. “This is so romantic.”
Stuffed inside my suitcase, I felt sweat dripping down my back, and I could smell my own feet.
“No,” I said. “It really isn’t.”
I heard the sound of a body slamming against the door. Then I heard the sound of the door breaking open. I finally got my zipper to move.
“Dessy?”
“In here!” I yelled.
I felt Roger tip me onto the floor. With the zipper now unstuck, he peeled open the case quickly, and I crawled out of the bag.
“Get me out of here!” Veronica yelled.
Roger unzipped her bag, and she spilled out onto the floor in a sweaty mess.
That’s when I heard the distinct sound of grunting. I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was Corky. She was climbing up the bedsheet. She was almost to the top.
All three of us watched as Corky’s fingers grabbed on to the ledge and she pulled herself up to our small balcony.
“Oh god. Is that a straight razor between her teeth?” Roger asked.
“Yes,” Veronica said. “Run!”
But Roger stayed put. He had his eyes locked on Corky, who seemed to be weighing the situation. To me, it looked like she was losing strength.
She let the blade fall from her mouth and screamed, “This isn’t over, Veronica!” Then she disappeared.
“I never guessed she had that kind of upper-body strength,” Veronica said. She reached over and picked up the blade. “It’s real! She was going to cut our ears off or something, just like that poor goat.”
“What?” Roger asked. “Corky maimed a goat?”
By this time I could hear other people racing down the hallway.
Two security guards stormed into the room and began yelling at Veronica. “Drop it! Drop it!”
Veronica tossed the blade onto the floor. “I’m not the criminal. She just left. She’s short and chubby and homicidal and wearing outdated clogs.”
“That’s right,” Roger said.
The guards seemed more persuaded by Roger than Veronica. They yelled into their walkie-talkies and hurried down the hall.
“Do you think they’ll catch her?” I asked.
Veronica rolled her eyes. “I have no faith in that duo to apprehend anyone, let alone somebody as crafty as Corky Tina Baker.”
“She’s been terrorizing you this whole time?” Roger asked me with wide eyes.
I nodded.
“I have a feeling there’s a lot more to this story,” he said.
“Best told at a later date,” Veronica said.
“I agree,” I said. “I’m just happy that she’s gone.”
“Totally. And we owe some serious thanks to you, Roger.”
Veronica moved toward him, and for a second I thought she was going to shake his hand. “Your brave act of breaking into the room and assisting us out of our bags has almost made me a believer in miracles.”
“Even after this you don’t believe in miracles?” Roger asked.
“Oh no,” Veronica said. “I barely started believing in Jesus four years ago.”
Roger laughed and looked at me. The panic that had overtaken the room moments ago was turning into something else. I realized that I’d been staring at him. I quickly glanced around the room, and as I did, everything took on a heightened importance. The desks. The beds. The suitcases. Roger. Roger’s blinking brown eyes. Wait. Were they hazel? Wait. I shouldn’t start staring at Roger again. Wait. Was Roger still looking at me? I felt warm.
Veronica walked to the window and yanked the bed sheets back into the room. She inspected the giant lipstick smear. “Why did you draw the flag of Japan on here?”
Roger cleared his throat. “It’s not the flag of Japan. It’s a distress signal.”
Veronica rubbed at the red stain with her thumb. “We’ll need to buy some bleach. It’s the only way to get this shade out of fabric. Trust me.” Roger smiled at me, then looked away. He kept wrinkling and relaxing his forehead. He seemed nervous.
“Well, it looks like we’ve missed class,” he said.
“Are you guys hungry? Maybe we could grab lunch.”
“Maybe,” I said. Why did I say ‘maybe’? Why didn’t I say ‘definitely’? Because that was how I felt.
“I found a good Italian place. Are you guys missing pasta?”
“Pasta sounds great,” I said.
“Maybe you two should go together,” Veronica said. “I’m going to go back to the church to look at that doll with my mom. Plus, I can fill her in on the fact that, following a violent outburst, one of our class members has fled the program and is currently being sought after by authorities.”
“I’m sure that will be a fun conversation.” I stood up and grabbed my wallet. Excitement tumbled through me.
“Have fun,” Veronica told us.
“You don’t need to tell me twice,” Roger said.
“Take some pictures.”
“Of the pasta?” I asked.
“Of your day. Maybe you two should visit the castle afterward.”
“Good idea,” Roger said. He was smiling at me again, and I knew it meant something real.
“Maybe we will,” I said.
Roger opened the door for me. I picked up my camera and put it in my bag. I liked the idea of having some photographic evidence of my day with Roger. Maybe when I got back to Ohio I could make him a funny collage and send it to him. Who knew, maybe after this vacation we could stay in each other’s lives. There were so many good colleges in Chicago. Maybe this didn’t have to end in a week. As we walked down the stairs, Roger’s hand swept past mine. I wanted him to take it, so I moved it closer to him until it brushed against his leg. He reached down and threaded his fingers through mine. My heart pumped so fast that it began to flutter. Thup. Thup. Thup. Thup. It made me feel wild and happy, like at any moment my heart might fly right out of my chest, down the hallway, into the streets, all the way to the castle.
At last it felt new and ready.
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A Field Guide for Heartbreakers Page 31